Look at the ceiling but the lights.


Or read the manual. Either one really.

 

RTFM??? I'm a dude. I don't read instructions!!!!

Seriously, thanks I'll look up there. All the other GM's have it on the dash.

 

Yeah, it's in the manual. One of the buttons in the overhead console. You mean you've never wondered what all of those were For?

 

1'm 6'1" with a long torso. I have to lean the seat back to even use a helmet in it. Yes, I checked helmet clearance.
I can't read those buttons and haven't used them.

 

Obviously, they didn't put the control in a spot that easy to find. Sure, I'm trying to go up a hill that's sort of icy, let me look up on my ceiling to disable traction control.

 

If the stability control/traction control is well written, you shouldn't have to turn off TC for ice.
The Cad has really good software, but I haven't tested the Volt yet.

I autoX'd a Coda EV and the mfr told me you could not disable it on the Coda. Not sure if he was right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj86ntUMNiQ&noredirect=1

 

I totally agree. But, going up a hill doesn't need it. Gravity is your traction, you just don't want your car to loose power when it slips a little bit.

 

Yeah, the traction control on the Volt works by individual brake applications to the slipping wheel, so power doesn't need to be reduced. Try it, you'll like it.

 

Only if the object is at rest. That means you don't want to move up a hill?

 

What? "An object at rest tends to stay at rest, an object in motion, tends to stay in motion" There's 2 parts to Newtons law...

 

In my experience, the max grip occurs with just a bit of tire slip. You can feel in some cars with stability control systems, they will haze the tires, but not blow them off. Cars that get zero slip go slower.

 

in my experience, the maximum grip occured after I slid off the road and was spinning on the gravel shoulder and one of my tires grabbed and opened up the bead.....

that was 30 years ago however...

one thing I've decided after reading all the posts in this thread is that I will never attempt to explain friction and acceleration to a person unless I am face to face with them and I will never trust a physics major who did thier mechanics lab as an on-line course....

 

Total Max Grip occurs when you bribe the dragstrip owner get liberal with the VHT. You walk across the start line and it sucks the shoes off your feet. 7000rpm, then sidestep the clutch!!! You either pick up the tires, or you shoots parts out the back.

 

I'm not able to locate how to turn off the stability control and traction control.

What am I overlooking?
..)

not overlooking, underlooking. if you have parking assist sensors, one of the buttons turns them on, since they normally only get turned on when you put the car in reverse and turn off above 5 mph, the other button toggles the traction control. I can't read the tiny symbols on them, since they are less than a foot from my eyes, but I figure that there is no harm in pushing both at the same time when I want to turn on the parking sensors....not really, the one on the left is the parking sensor button.

Oh and if you get enough wheelspin to actuate the traction control at the track, I think you need stickier tires.... but thats just an opinion.

 

OK, overhead console, two black button that are parallel. The one on the passenger side is TC, but is not marked well.

Press once quickly, T/C off, Comp Mode (aka Vette)
Press once and hold for 7 seconds, T/C and Stabiltrak off, race mode.

HOWEVER ...

This car has abuse control programmed into it, or it's the slowest EV in production. No burnouts for you!

Full power won't come on in any mode under ~10mph. A Coda would solidly kick it's ass off a light.

Most electric motors make full torque at 0 RPM. One of the fun things about EV's is the instant burst of power. It's just not there in my 2013 Volt. Which is good, since it's the kid's car.

But, my guess is that the Volt is going to be much faster around a track. It feels a LOT better.

 

1. re Traction Control, when I had a Saturn back in 1993 they implemented Traction Control as "ABS in reverse" e.g. using the ABS sensors but backwards or something like that, detecting which wheel was slipping and reducing the power to it.

2. now how about the similar Physics lesson but about how the "Electronic Stability Control" works? I've seen explanations but they went in one ear and out the other...

 

I always turn it off in the snow. It just slows me down and I get stuck. Maybe I should drive the truck when the snow is 6"